Community's Jessica Thompson (21) wrestles for a loose ball with Cascade's Michelle Bauman. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

Fourth-seeded Community rallied back from a 16-point deficit and held on late against fifth-seeded Cascade for a stunning 47-46 victory to extend their season at least three more games.

Simply getting to within striking distance took some mid-game adjustments by first-year Community coach Allison Layne.

The Viqueens scored first but the Lady Champions answered with nine straight points, ended the first quarter up 20-6 and enjoyed a 27-11 lead after a Tiffany Gibbs 3-pointer with 5:16 left in the opening half.

"They were very coachable early," Cascade coach Chad Spencer said of his girls. "We came out and stuck to our game plan."

The Orange and Black stitched together six 3-point baskets before Layne junked her zone defense and went man-to-man. The result left the visitors without another field goal the rest of the first half and the Viqueens (15-8) inched to within 31-21 at the break.

"Being down by 16 points is huge, but we've done it before," Layne said. "I told them, 'As long as we play as a team, we'll come back and win this.'

"We were missing some shots early on and they were making everything they shot it seems like."

After playing some of their best basketball of the season, Cascade posted one of their worst second halves.

Three baskets from Courtney Vassar highlighted an 11-2 Community run to close the gap to 35-33.

Lady Champion Ashley Bledsoe countered with a bucket 39 seconds prior to end of the third. They didn't make another field goal over the next 7:40.

"We played awful in the third quarter," Spencer said. "We had entirely too many turnovers. We've still got kids that make middle school mistakes.

"All good teams make a run. When Community made a run, instead of fighting through it, we just collapsed."

Viqueen Heather Small (left) tries to maintain possession while fighting off Lady Champion Jessica Popp as Courtney Vassar looks on. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

While some girls launched passes out of bounds and dribbled the ball of their feet, Heather Small stepped up in crunch with one of the better games of her career. She hit back-to-back 3s to give the Viqueens a 39-38 lead at the five-minute mark of the fourth period. Her team never trailed again.

"Heather Small played outstanding," Spencer said. "She played great defense. She shot the ball well with us in her face all night long."

Nobody hit another shot from the field until Tiffany Gibbs breathed life into Cascade with a 3-pointer with just under a minute to play. Her second trey in the final minute slimmed their deficit to 46-45 just 26 seconds later.

The Lady Champs missed out on a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line with 14.8 seconds left and a long Gibbs shot attempt as the clocked ticked away fell short.

Every Community point following Small's 3s came on free throws as they sank 8-of-13 down the stretch. Their defense picked up the slack and suffocated their Bedford County neighbors.

"There was never a give-up point. They kept on fighting the entire time," Layne said.

The Viqueens advance to face No. 1 seed Forrest on Thursday night at 6:30 in the semifinals.

"We're not ready for it to be over, that's for sure," Layne said. "They're a physical team. We're going to have to run and be in shape. They've got several people off the bench that come in."

The sixth-ranked Lady Rockets (23-3) outscored Community 111-59 in their two regular season wins. Layne noted how her team didn't respond well to the Forrest defensive pressure and lost control of the games early.

The Viqueen 'W' also clinches a berth in the Region 5-A tournament next week at Hillwood High in Nashville.

Cascade's Chelsea Calvert (22) comes across Viqueen Aubrey Boyce on a rebound attempt. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

Cascade's season comes to a close with a final record of 10-14 and marks the end of a career on the hardwood for senior Chelsea Calvert.

"Chelsea is an awesome kid," Spencer said. "She's the kind of kid that every coach likes to coach, that every parent ought to be proud to have. She's a super role model for the younger kids. She comes in when she's sick.

"Bless her heart, she's played a position her whole life that she's too small to play, but it was hard for me to change that her senior year."

Small led all scorers with 19 points. Her team was 13-for-23 at the foul line.

Gibbs paced the Lady Champs with 13 points. They hit 22-of-12 free throws.